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69 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, September 28, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend April 9, 2004 Judge tosses evidence of sex abuse Charges against former caregiver might be dropped, but the D.A.is exploring an appeal By SARAH LEMON Mail Tribune After videotapes showing the sexual abuse of a mentally disabled woman were thrown out of court, the woman’s former caregiver may not stand trial. Michael Glen Cragun, 50, was charged with 15 felony sex crimes in September after police seized videotapes from his home during a drug investigation. The tapes were found on Cragun’s bed along with marijuana, scales, plastic bags and records of drug sales, Jackson County sheriff’s deputies testified in a March court hearing. But Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Lorenzo Mejia ruled last week that the tapes were inadmissible in trial. In hopes of reversing the decision, the Jackson County District Attorney’s Office has asked the Oregon Attorney General’s Office to take the issue before the state Court of Appeals. Mejia told prosecuting and defense attorneys that the warrant to search Cragun’s house should have listed more items to be seized. The warrant did not list videotapes and only vaguely referred to items relating to drug sales. On the drug case, Cragun pleaded guilty Thursday in Circuit Court to charges of manufacturing marijuana and second-degree criminal trespass. Deputies on Aug. 17 seized 83 marijuana plants and growing materials from Cragun’s mobile home on Falcon Street in White City, said David Hoppe, deputy district attorney. Advertisement Officers said they started playing the videotapes to find evidence of drug sales. One tape yielded images of Cragun giving marijuana to another person. The other documented sex acts between him and a female client of Living Opportunities. The woman can be heard screaming on the tape while Cragun attempts to ease her fears before subjecting her to unwanted sexual contact. Based on the videotape, prosecutors filed against Cragun three counts of first-degree sodomy, three counts of first-degree unlawful sexual penetration with a foreign object and nine counts of first-degree sex abuse. Because the woman does not have the capacity to testify, the state will not proceed to trial without the videotapes as evidence, Hoppe said. Cragun’s defense attorney Monica Martin sought to suppress the videotapes as evidence because the warrant deputies obtained over the telephone did not specifically list those items. Martin also argued that deputies Jason Denton and Jennifer Farmer entered Cragun’s house unlawfully because they arrived at the home to investigate a Peeping Tom complaint, not a drug case, she said. When Cragun’s neighbor told deputies that she saw him peering into her window late at night with his hands near his groin, deputies said they went looking for evidence that he was peering over his fence and masturbating. Finding marijuana plants in Cragun’s back yard gave them reason to search the trailer, Farmer and Denton told the court. Mejia ruled that Denton and Farmer did not trespass on Cragun’s property or inside his home. Shortly after his arrest, Cragun was fired from his job as a night-shift caregiver at Living Opportunities’ Medford group home, Beatty House. A non-profit agency that contracts with Jackson County to provide residential and treatment services, Living Opportunities serves approximately 150 clients ranging from mildly to severely disabled. Cragun had been employed there for more than two years. Cragun’s trial date is still scheduled for May 5 pending word from the Attorney General’s Office. Cragun remains in the Jackson County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bail. Reach reporter Sarah Lemonat 776-4487, or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities